NEW YORK CITY: The 60th annual Drama Desk Awards were presented last night, May 31, at Town Hall in Manhattan. The awards recognized Broadway, Off Broadway and Off-Off Broadway productions. Hamilton, presented by the Public Theater, and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time on Broadway were the front runners at the event, collecting seven and six awards respectively. Curious Incident won in every category it was nominated in.
In addition to the competitive awards, special awards were also given to theatre companies and individuals who have made significant contributions to the theatre community this season. An award was given to the acting ensemble of A.R. Gurney’s The Wayside Motor Inn at Signature Theatre, which included Kelly AuCoin, Jon DeVries, Quincy Dunn-Baker, Rebecca Henderson, Marc Kudisch, Jenn Lyon, Lizbeth Mackay, David McElwee, Ismenia Mendes and Will Pullen.
Playwright Bess Wohl received the Sam Norkin Off-Broadway Award, recognizing a breakthrough year that included three plays: American Hero at Second Stage Theatre, Pretty Filthy from the Civilians and Small Mouth Sounds at Ars Nova.
John Douglas Thompson was recognized for his performance in Tamburlaine the Great at Theatre for a New Audience and The Iceman Cometh at Brooklyn Academy of Music.
Ensemble Studio Theatre was awarded for its commitment to producing new works by American playwrights since 1968. It was also recognized for its production of Hand to God by Robert Askins, which made its world premiere at EST before traveling to MCC and then Broadway this season.
The final special award was given to Andy Blankenbuehler, for his Hamilton choreography.
Laura Benanti hosted the event, which was presented by TheaterMania.com. Gretchen Shugart is managing executive producer of the Drama Desk Awards. Joey Parnes Productions produced and managed the show. The awards show was written by Bill Rosenfield (with additional material from Benanti) and directed by Jack Cummings III, cofounder and artistic director of Transport Group. Robert R. Blume and David S. Stone, in association with Renee McCurry, are co-executive producers of the Drama Desk Awards.
The Drama Desk brings together critics and writers, and is the only organization that has Broadway, Off Broadway and Off-Off Broadway productions competing in the same category.
The list of winners is below.
PLAY
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
MUSICAL
Hamilton
REVIVAL OF A PLAY
The Elephant Man
REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL
The King and I
ACTOR IN A PLAY
Alex Sharp, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
ACTRESS IN A PLAY
Helen Mirren, The Audience
ACTOR IN A MUSICAL
Robert Fairchild, An American in Paris
ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL
Kristin Chenoweth, On the Twentieth Century
FEATURED ACTOR IN A PLAY
K. Todd Freeman, Airline Highway
FEATURED ACTRESS IN A PLAY
Annaleigh Ashford, You Can’t Take It With You
FEATURED ACTOR IN A MUSICAL
Christian Borle, Something Rotten!
FEATURED ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL
Renee Elise Goldsberry, Hamilton
DIRECTOR OF A PLAY
Marianne Elliott, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
DIRECTOR OF A MUSICAL
Thomas Kail, Hamilton
CHOREOGRAPHY
Christopher Wheeldon, An American in Paris
MUSIC
Lin-Manuel Miranda, Hamilton
LYRICS
Lin-Manuel Miranda, Hamilton
BOOK OF A MUSICAL
Lin-Manuel Miranda, Hamilton
ORCHESTRATIONS
Christopher Austin, An American in Paris
MUSIC IN A PLAY
Arthur Solari & Jane Shaw, Tamburlaine the Great
REVUE
Just Jim Dale
SET DESIGN
Bob Crowley, An American in Paris
COSTUME DESIGN
Catherine Zuber, Gigi
LIGHTING DESIGN
Paule Constable, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
PROJECTION DESIGN
Finn Ross, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
SOUND DESIGN OF A MUSICAL
Nevin Steinberg, Hamilton
SOUND DESIGN OF A PLAY
Ian Dickinson (for Autograph), The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
SOLO PERFORMANCE
Benjamin Scheuer, The Lion
UNIQUE THEATRICAL EXPERIENCE
Queen of the Night
SPECIAL AWARDS
Bess Wohl
John Douglas Thompson
Ensemble Studio Theatre
Andy Blankenbuehler
The ensemble of Wayside Motor Inn by A.R. Gurney: Kelly AuCoin, Jon DeVries, Quincy Dunn-Baker, Rebecca Henderson, Marc Kudisch, Jenn Lyon, Lizbeth Mackay, David McElwee, Ismenia Mendes and Will Pullen
